Descending Into Darkness, Ascending To Love
by Taijutsudemonslayer
Summary: Casey Novak returns to New York after seven years, she despretely wants to reunite with Olivia Benson, there's only one obstacle the redhead must get past to make that a reality and that is her Ex-lover, Alex Cabot. Can Casey do what she needs to do to be with the woman she loves most in this world?
1. Chapter 1

**Descending Into Darkness, Ascending To Love**  
 **by Taijutsudemonslayer**

Law & Order: SVU

Casey/Olivia Femslash

Casey Novak  
Olivia Benson  
Noah Benson  
Alex Cabot  
Odafin "Fin" Tutuola  
Amanda Rollins  
Sonny Carisi  
Original Characters  
Melinda Warner

 _Summary: Casey Novak returns to New York after seven years, she desperately wants to reunite with Olivia Benson, there's only one obstacle the redhead must get past to make that a reality and that is her Ex-lover, Alex Cabot. Can Casey do what she needs to do to be with the woman she loves most in this world?_

Chapter 1

A lone cloaked figure walked down a corridor of Mercy General Hospital, he has a syringe in his left hand. He was looking for a specific woman to kill, to take his rage out on after she rejected his advances. Twenty-one year-old Jill Montoya lies in her hospital bed, recovering after being violently raped and beaten by a masked assailant, the mystery man entered Jill's room silently and stood over the sleeping woman.

He looked down at the young blonde woman with a look of pure disgust on his face.

The man thought back to the Rush Party at NYU, where he'd first seen Jill chatting with one of her girlfriends, then the echo of her voice turning him down played over and over in his head on a continuous loop, which only further enraged him.

' _She rejected you, she thinks that you're beneath her. Make her pay, kill her... Kill her.'_ the voice in his head commanded,

The cloaked figure approached the bed, he injects the Thallium into Jill's IV bag, the man smiled before turning and walking out of Jill's room.

Two hours later, Head Nurse Nancy Mitchell was on her nightly rounds, when she came to Jill's room. Nancy found it strange that Jill was still sleeping because Jill hadn't eaten since six'o clock that evening and it was nearly nine, so Nancy decided to check in on Jill, Nancy checked Jill's pulse and other vitals. Nancy gasped in horror and jumped back when she didn't find Jill's pulse, the terrified brunette nurse ran out of the room down to the Nurse's Station and grabbed the phone and called upstairs to her superiors and informed them of this strange development,


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Casey Novak walked into the squad room of the Special Victims Unit for the first time in seven long years, she took notice of all the changes to the precinct that have been made in her absence and Casey smiled, liking what she sees.

"Excuse me Ma'am, but can I help you?" Amanda asked gently as she came up behind the redhead and lightly touched Casey on her left shoulder,

Casey jumped a little from the contact before taking a calming breath and turning around, a friendly smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Casey Novak, I used to work here," the redhead said to Amanda.

"All right, Miss Novak, what can I do for you?"

"Is Donald Cragen, John Munch, or Olivia Benson here?" Casey asks.

"I'm sorry, but both John Munch and Donald Cragen have both retired, but Olivia Benson is here, she's the boss around here now."

Casey's jaw dropped, she never would have never guessed Olivia would be in charge of SVU as the Lieutenant,

"Can I speak to her...uh?" Casey said.

"Oh, sorry, Detective Amanda Rollins, nice to meet you, Miss Novak." the blonde said offering Casey her left hand.

"The pleasure is mine, Detective Rollins," Casey says before grasping Amanda's hand and shaking it firmly.

"Follow me please," Amanda says to Casey before leading the redhead into the bullpen and over to the door to Liv's office, along the way Casey saw Fin and waved hello to him. Amanda gently knocks on Olivia's door.

"Who is it?" Olivia asked,

"Amanda, there's a Casey Novak here to see you," the blonde says.

"Send her in." came Olivia's reply.

Amanda opened the door for Casey and allowed the redhead to enter the office before sticking her head inside.

"I'll be at my desk if you need me, Liv," Amanda says before closing the door.

"So, Casey, how have you been?" Olivia inquired,

"Just great, Olivia, congratulations on your promotion to Lieutenant, if anyone deserves it, you do," Casey said,

"Thanks, Casey, so are you and Alex still a couple?" the brunette asked gently, still knowing that Casey and Alex's tumultuous relationship was still a sore spot for the redhead.

"No, Olivia, Alex cheated on me with an intern named Jacqueline Austin when I was censured, then she broke up with me two weeks later," Casey said as she fought back the tears she knew were coming,

"Oh, Casey, I'm so sorry about that and I wish that I could've been there for you," Olivia said, standing up and walking around her desk over to where Casey was standing and hugged her gently.

Overwhelmed by her emotional rollercoaster, Casey broke down and sobbed in Olivia's arms, the emerald-eyed attorney was inconsolable as she cried her eyes out, burying her face into Liv's right shoulder.

Olivia's heart ached for Casey, Olivia knew that she had always loved the gorgeous redhead and she felt nothing but contempt for Alex Cabot for hurting Casey the way that she had,

As Casey wiped her eyes, she spotted a picture of Olivia holding an adorable little boy, she smiles at the heart-warming photo.

"Who is this little guy, Olivia?" Casey inquired after picking up the frame,

"That is Noah, my Son, Casey," Olivia said proudly.

Casey's smile faded, as she assumed that Olivia had a man in her life to go along with the child.

As if sensing her friend's thoughts Olivia she grabs both of Casey's hands and looked into the redhead's shimmering jade orbs,

"Casey...I adopted Noah because he needed me and I needed him, I love him more than anything in this world."

Casey realized what Olivia's words were implying, she gave the brunette a relieved smile. Just then Amanda opened the door,

"Liv, a rape victim was poisoned at Mercy Hospital."

"You and Fin go, Carisi still has court, report to me as soon as you Fin get back," she said in an authoritative tone that Casey hadn't heard in years and it was turning the redhead on, unbeknownst to Olivia,

"Roger that, Lieutenant," Amanda said before shutting the door again,

Once they were alone again, Casey looked at Olivia with pure are and admiration in her eyes.

"Wow, Liv, you really know how to take charge," the redhead compliments.

Amanda and Fin arrive at Mercy Hospital where they are greeted by Nancy Mitchell and the new Owner of the hospital, Monique Duchamp.

"Bonjour detectives, I am Monique Duchamp, the proud new Owner of this fine medical center, how can I assist you today?"

"Well, Miss Duchamp, I'm Detective Amanda Rollins and this is my partner, Detective Tutuola and we're from the NYPD's Special Victims Unit." Amanda explains.

"I do not understand what that means, Detective." Monique says,

"We investigate sexually based crime, Miss Duchamp." Fin says.

A horrified expression crossed the half-French, half-American woman's angelic features.

Fin sees the pain in Monique's blue eyes, he leans over to Amanda and whispered in her right ear,

"You take Duchamp somewhere and calm her down, I'll stay here and talk to the nurse about our victim," Fin says , Amanda nods in agreement.

Amanda and Monique Duchamp head over to the hospital's empty break room, Monique is still visibly upset upon learning that a patient at this hospital was raped and murdered on her watch.

Fin and Nancy go to the Nurse's station,

"So, Miss Mitchell, what can you recall about what you saw?" Fin asked.

Nancy recounted the night's event and described the man who she'd seen come out of Jill Montoya's hospital room.

"The man I saw was about 6'2" , white, blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white lab coat. "

Fin wrote down the description on his notepad.

In the break room, Amanda did her best to calm Monique down,

"Miss Duchamp, please try to calm down, I promise you that we're not going to stop until we catch this monster." Amanda says before gently touching Monique's right shoulder to reassure her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Thank you, Detective Rollins, I will place my faith in you and your colleagues." Monique says, giving the much younger blonde a warm smile, Amanda lightly squeezed Monique's shoulder in response. "Would you like a lift home, Miss Duchamp?" Amanda asked,"Qui, I would like that very much, Detective Rollins." Monique says, flashing her dazzling, perfect smile once again, Meanwhile, back at the Precinct...Casey and Olivia are exchanging new cell phone numbers, Olivia invites the redhead to a picnic in Central Park on with her and Noah on Sunday afternoon, Casey readily accepted the brunette's invitation, just then Fin called Liv and told her that he'd gotten a description of the perpetrator to begin working with. Casey, seeing Olivia becoming busy decided to take her leave,

Casey was all smiles as she stepped off the elevator in the parking garage, she then walked over to where her silver 2016 Mazda 3 was parked, the redhead's smile dissipated when she spots the familiar sleek form of Alex Cabot leaning against Casey's car leisurely. "So, this is where you've been," the blonde purred. "What do you want, Alex?" Casey groaned. "Can't a girl be concerned about a friend without being judged?" Alex asked in an almost playful tone.

"That statement would be true Alex, except for the fact that we're no longer friends or anything else, a fact that you made abundantly clear to me when you dumped me for Jacqueline Austin, or have you already forgotten that?" Casey said angrily."Casey-," Alex said, but Casey cut her off. "Don't say a word, Alex, I loved you so much, but all you did was use and manipulate me for your own gratification," Casey said with tears in her eyes. If Alex felt bad for how she'd treated the redhead, she didn't show it. Alex stood up, moving away from Casey's car. "I'm-," Alex began to say, but Casey once again cut the older blonde off,"What, sorry? You want me to forgive and take you back so you can do the same thing to me later on down the line? No way am I that stupid, blondie," Casey snapped harshly at Alex.

"Well then, prepare to be miserable, Casey," Alex replied smugly before walking over to her red BMW Alex was gone Casey calmed herself and pushed the unpleasant encounter with her former lover out of her mind and refocus on the pleasant reunion she and Olivia shared. Amanda pulled up to Monique's huge townhouse, after getting out the blonde Detective went around to the passenger side and opened the door for Monique. "Thank you very much, Detective Rollins," Monique says with a shy smile,

"If there is anything you can think of or if you just need someone to talk to about anything, please don't hesitate to call me, Miss Duchamp," Amanda said as she hands Monique one of her contact cards. Richard Moss, aka Richard Duchamp walked into by his west Manhattan studio apartment, "Stacy, are you here?" Richard calls out, "I'm in the kitchen, sweetie," twenty-six year-old Stacy Hunter answered. Richard reached into his left pocket and pulled out his empty syringe. "I'm going to need you to call your friend at ChemSAT for some more thallium,"

"I-I can't, they might get suspicious," Stacy replied. Upon returning to the station, Fin goes to see Melinda in the Morgue,"Hey there, Doctor Warner, you got anything for me?" he asked.

"Yes, there were no signs of trauma to the victim's body aside from the bruising on her inner thighs and the vaginal tearing I found in my initial exam, but then I found this in the Toxicology report," Melinda shows Fin what she'd discovered, "Look here, the abnormally high levels of Thallium in her system." the ebony Medical Examiner said, Fin nodded, already deducing Melinda's next statement, "This woman was poisoned, Detective. I can't make a determination on if the rape occurred before or after the poisoning as of yet and I'm also still waiting on the results of the DNA that I found inside the victim to come back," Melinda explains. "I'll let Liv know, thanks Melinda," Fin says before leaving the Morgue. Amanda was at her desk typing when Fin re-enters the squad room. "What are you up to, Amanda?" Fin asked as he passed the blonde's desk.

looking into Monique Duchamp, did Warner give you anything?

"Our Victim was poisoned with Thallium and raped," Fin said,

Amanda held her silence, Fin then goes into Olivia's office to inform her of Melinda's findings.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Olivia sighed as she entered her apartment, eyeing Noah and Lucy, seated on the couch watching SpongeBob, the brunette smiled at the sight.

"Mommy's home," Liv says,

Hearing his Mother's voice pulled Noah's attention away from the television as he jumped up and ran over to Olivia,

"What are you still doing up, Noah?" Olivia inquired,

"I wanted to see you before I went to bed," Noah says before hugging Olivia and placing a kiss on her left cheek.

Stacy is calling her best friend and Lab Technician for ChemSAT, Marlene Dawson.

"Hey Stacy, what's up?" Marlene asks,

"I need some more Thallium," Stacy says, trying to keep the fear and desperation out of her voice.

Hearing the worried tone of her best friend's voice, Marlene reluctantly agreed to get the Thallium for Stacy,

"Meet me at my place at ten AM tomorrow morning," Marlene said,

Stacy smiled and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Marlene would come through for her.

The next day, Fin arrived at the Precinct and finds Amanda still seated at her desk,

"Did you stay here all night, Amanda?" he asked,

"No Fin, I got home at 9:45, I came back in this morning at 7:15," Amanda said, appalled at her partner's suggestion.

Fin doesn't press his luck with the blonde Detective, he sees that he has a missed call from Melinda,

In her office, Olivia is on the phone with DEA Special Agent, Lora Carson, Olivia is asking about Thallium related homicides in the US.

"Well Lieutenant Benson, from the late 1970s to today there have been 1,465 Thallium-related homicides in the US," the Agent said.

"Well, we've got a rape victim here who was poisoned with Thallium, Agent and I thought you and the DEA would like to be kept apprised of the situation," Liv says,

"Yes Lieutenant Benson, we definitely would like to be kept apprised of the situation and we are glad to offer any assistance we can," Agent Carson adds.

"Thank you, Agent Carson, I'll be in touch," Olivia says before ending the call.

It is now lunch time and Olivia has decided to eat her lunch outside in Central Park, Olivia finds a bench and sits down, she then unwrapped her lunch, a hot dog with mustard and chili, along with a bag of chips and a Pepsi.

"Mind if I join you, Ms. Benson?" Casey asked gently,

Olivia looks up and smiled at the sight of the redhead.

"Please do, Counselor," Olivia says, smiling.

Richard smiled as Marlene put the two large boxes of Thallium onto the bed of his silver Ford F-350,

"Thanks Marlene, you're a life saver." Stacy says,

"Just be careful, Stacy,"

"I will, thanks again," Stacy says before leaning in and hugging Marlene tightly.

"I'm sorry Marlene, take care of yourself." she whispered.

Olivia moved over to give Casey enough room to sit on the bench beside her,

"Beautiful day we're having today," the redhead cheerfully remarked.

"It is indeed, Casey," Olivia replied.

"I'm really looking forward to spending Sunday with you and Noah," Casey said, turning her emerald eyes to the goddess that she had been attracted to ever since the first day they met,

"I can't wait either, Casey," Liv said, meeting Casey's gaze, then the brunette reached over and gently touched Casey's right cheek, Casey shut her eyes, refamiliarizing herself with Olivia's touch, which was comforting and gentle, a welcome change for Casey, who up to this point was only acclimated to Alex's rough, uncaring touch.

"Casey, I'd really like to -," Olivia began to say, but was cut off by Casey leaning over and capturing Olivia's lips in a passionate kiss,

Casey broke the kiss but for a moment so that she could get up and move to sit on Olivia's lap before resuming the kiss,  
Once their first kiss ended, Casey and Olivia simply stayed where they were, unsure if they should move it even speak.

After several minutes of uncertainty, Olivia spoke,

"I- should get back to the Precinct, Casey," Olivia said, her voice came out in a husky whisper, signifying her still-present desire for the woman who was still perched on her lap.

Casey quickly gets off of Olivia and stands to the right as the brunette stood up,

"S-Sorry I got so carried away, Liv," Casey said, dropping her gaze,

"Casey, please don't ever be sorry for kissing me," Olivia replied,

Amanda pulled up to Monique's townhouse, the blonde detective wants to question the older blonde woman about what she'd discovered when she was investigating Monique to determine if she was in anyway involved with the rape or murder of Jill Montoya,

Amanda walked up and knocked on the ornate French door,

"Who is it?" Monique asked,

"Amanda Rollins, Miss Duchamp, I have some more questions for you," Amanda says,

Monique quickly unlocked the door and opened it, revealing herself. She was dressed elegantly in a floral blouse, a simple gray skirt, and white heels, her blue eyes lit up when she saw Amanda.

"Ah, Bonjour Amanda, please come in,"

"Thank you, Ms. Duchamp," Amanda says before entering the lavish home,

Monique led Amanda into the lounge,

"Would you care for a praline and a cup of café?" Monique inquired,

"Sure, thank you, Ms. Duchamp,


End file.
